Transforming The Future

by Michael Hartmann, professor of Human Resources at DeGroote School of Business and Principal of the Directors College

Today’s C-suite executives and board directors must balance a need for innovation, new processes and mindsets with a responsibility to guard against undue and often-unforeseen risks. A McKinsey survey of corporate directors indicated that more than 50% of respondents said their boards should have a forward-looking view of technology’s impact on their business, yet less than 30% reported having such a discussion.

Digital innovation will most certainly become the core of most company strategies, yet top managers still struggle with how to use the magnitude of available data to their advantage. Boards and CEOs quickly need to fill their top talent pools with those who can harness digital innovation and transform disruption itself.

The DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University has created a new EMBA in Digital Transformation that will create digital leaders who can connect the divide that exists between data and strategy. They will understand emerging issues and technological advancements and be able to develop ways to harness and disrupt those opportunities. And they will be influencers who can sell it to the decision makers.

The EMBA in Digital Transformation is comprised of continuously-changing curriculum and custom, integrated cases developed around current and emerging trends in business and technology. Our module-based, blended-learning format is unique amongst EMBAs and provides our students and their employers with the flexibility necessary to fit their busy schedules, and our international module in Palo Alto emphasizes the digital focus of the program and expands our candidates’ network internationally.